(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved vacuum cleaning apparatus. In one form the apparatus includes a movable collar which ejects dirt from an air outlet from an outer container leading to an inner cyclone. In another form the apparatus includes a disc mounted on an outside surface of the cyclone and spaced from the inner wall of the container which prevents long strands such as hair from entering the air outlet from the container to the inner cyclone. Preferably the collar and disc are used together.
(2) Prior Art
The basic cleaning apparatus with an outer cyclone or container and an inner cyclone is described in the inventor's Canadian Pat. No. 1,182,613 granted Feb. 19, 1985 and corresponding to U.S. application Ser. No. 640,758 filed Aug. 14, 1984. The inventor is unaware of any prior art describing inventions similar to the present invention. The problem with these dual cyclone devices is that dirt, particularly hair and larger dirt particles, tends to clog the air outlet from the container leading to the inner cyclone. Until the present invention, there has been no solution to the problem except to use a filter in the air outlet which defeats the purpose of a cyclonic cleaning apparatus. Filters reduce air flow through the apparatus as dirt accumulates and must be cleaned or replaced periodically.